Astra Tech is a

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

-based technology investment and development group operating in

MENA region The Middle East and North Africa (MENA), also referred to as West Asia and North Africa (WANA) or South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA), is a geographic region which comprises the Middle East (also called West Asia) and North Africa together ...

. Astra Tech owns several technology companies, including PayBy, Rizek, Botim, and Quantix LLC. The company developed Botim Ultra app, which serves over 150 million users across 155 countries. In 2023-2024, Botim became the most issued fintech card in the country. In July 2024, Astra Tech's Quantix became the first

fintech Financial technology (abbreviated as fintech) refers to the application of innovative technologies to products and services in the financial industry. This broad term encompasses a wide array of technological advancements in financial services, ...

to receive a Finance Company License

Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates () (Central Bank of the UAE or CBUAE) is the state institution responsible for managing the currency, monetary policy, banking and insurance regulation in the United Arab Emirates. History The Qatar ...

. In December 2024, the American investment fund

Citi Citigroup Inc. or Citi (stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, the bank holding company for Citibank, and ...

invested $500 million in Astra Tech's Quantix, marking the largest funding for a

-based fintech to date.

History

Astra Tech was founded by Emirati businessman Abdallah Abu Sheikh in 2022, with a focus on creating the region's first Ultra App, integrating a wide range of services such free VoIP calls, international money transfers, credit lending, microfinancing bill payments, on-demand and home services, and government services. In July 2022, Astra Tech acquired Rizek, a homegrown UAE-born super platform for on-demand personal and home services. The platform was first to market with crucial services such as home

PCR testing The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method widely used to make millions to billions of copies of a specific DNA sample rapidly, allowing scientists to amplify a very small sample of DNA (or a part of it) sufficiently to enable detailed st ...

and COVID vaccinations. In August 2022, Astra Tech acquired PayBy to expand its fintech section and receive Stored Value Facility and Retail Payment Services Licenses from the Central Bank of the UAE. In December 2022, Astra Tech received a $500 million funding round led by Abu-Dhabi-based G42, which has supported the company's acquisitions and development of technology. In January 2023, Astra Tech acquired BOTIM, the region's most popular VoIP app, which became popular during the COVID-19 pandemic as it provided video, audio, instant messaging, and group chats. In 2023, it partnered with

MoneyGram MoneyGram International, Inc. is an American interstate and international peer-to-peer payments and electronic funds transfer, money transfer company headquartered in Dallas, Dallas, Texas. It has an operations center in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, ...

for international money transfers. By In June 2023, Astra Tech launched its first autonomous AI-operated shopping store in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, and in July 2023, it entered the

Philippine The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

market by acquiring Y Finance. In August 2023, Astra Tech's Botim launched its prepaid cards together with MasterCard, which became the most issued card for a fintech in the UAE and in September 2023, Astra Tech and

Ant Group Ant Group ( zh, s=蚂蚁集团, p=Mǎyǐ jítuán, t=), formerly known as Ant Financial, is an affiliate company of the Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group. The group owns the world's largest mobile (digital) payment platform Alipay, which serves ...

launched the first Alipay+ integrated cross-border digital payments in the UAE. In November 2023,

Apple Pay Apple Pay is a mobile payment service by Apple Inc. that allows users to make payments in person, in iOS apps, and on the web. Supported on iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro, Apple Pay digitizes and can replace a credit or debi ...

went live on the Botim Prepaid Card, and in December 2023, a partnership with

Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. ( zh, s=腾讯, p=Téngxùn) is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimed ...

introduced remittances from Botim wallet to over 1 billion

WeChat WeChat or Weixin in Chinese ( zh, c=微信, p=Wēixìn , l=micro-message) is an instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment mobile app, app developed by Tencent. First released in 2011, it became the world's largest standalone mobile a ...

( Weixin Wallet) users in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. In 2023, Astra Tech was listed in

Forbes India ''Forbes India'' is the Indian edition of ''Forbes'', which is managed by the Reliance Industries-owned media conglomerate, Network 18. History and profile Since its founding in 2008, ''Forbes India'' has achieved a circulation of 50,000 copies ...

's Top 10 Select 200 Companies with Global Business Potential and recognized as one of the "Future 100 Companies" by the UAE Minister of State for Government Development and the Future. By April 2024, Astra Tech signed a MoU with

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC () is an Islamic bank based in Abu Dhabi city, in the United Arab Emirates. Establishment Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank was established on 20 May 1997 as a Public Joint Stock Company through the Amiri Decree No. 9 of 1997. ...

to integrate Shariah-compliant financial services through the Botim app. In May 2024, Astra Tech launched the

MENA The Middle East and North Africa (MENA), also referred to as West Asia and North Africa (WANA) or South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA), is a geographic region which comprises the Middle East (also called West Asia) and North Africa together ...

region's first Palm Pay technology and announced the opening of its strategic office in Dubai's

DIFC The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is a special economic zone in Dubai covering , established in 2004 as a financial hub for companies operating throughout the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (MEASA) markets. DIFC is regulated ...

Innovation Hub. In July 2024, Astra Tech's Quantix became the first fintech to receive

Finance Company License. In 2024, it received the Economic Financial Equity Award by Inc. Arabia's Best in Business Awards and the Digital Banking Platform of the Year by Finance Middle East.{{Cite web , title=إطلاق أول ChatGPT باللغة العربية لتعزيز العروض المدعومة بالذكاء الاصطناعي , url=https://economymiddleeast.com/ar/news/%D8%A5%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%82-%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84-chatgpt-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D8%BA%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%B2-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1/ , access-date=2024-02-14 , website=Economy Middle East , language=ar

References

Companies based in Dubai